Published: September 24, 2026
MONROVIA — Criminal Court “C” has denied former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor’s motion to be admitted to bail, ruling that allegations of her continued involvement in an alleged drug-related criminal enterprise extend into August 2026 and therefore cannot be treated solely as conduct that ended in 2021 or 2022.
Assigned Circuit Judge Ousman F. Feika of the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “C” for Montserrado County, handed down the ruling Thursday, Sept. 24.
Howard-Taylor had asked the court to grant her bail, arguing, among other things, that much of the conduct alleged against her occurred in 2021 and 2022 — before the enactment of Liberia’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2023.
Her lawyers contended that prosecuting her under the 2023 law for conduct allegedly committed before the law took effect would violate the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. She also challenged the government’s position that the offenses charged against her are grave and non-bailable.
But Judge Feika rejected the argument that the allegations were confined to the period preceding the 2023 law, pointing to allegations contained in the writ of arrest that Howard-Taylor herself attached as an exhibit to her motion.
According to the court, the writ alleges that Howard-Taylor’s relationship with an alleged drug cartel continued beyond 2021 and 2022 and into August 2026.
The court said the writ alleges that Howard-Taylor received $15,000 in August 2026 from alleged co-conspirators.
It also referenced allegations that while in Dubai, Howard-Taylor received $45,000 from Nikola Ivancic for shopping, allegedly in the presence of Sheikh Bashiru Kante, Taras Zadereiko and Mihovil Vrovac.
The writ further alleges that after returning to Liberia, Howard-Taylor maintained contact with the alleged cocaine cartel and requested and received $75,000 through Kante for her entity, the Jewel Star Fish Foundation.
According to the court, the writ also alleges that she subsequently received another $15,000 in August 2026.
Judge Feika said those allegations were significant because they placed some of the alleged conduct after the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2023 took effect.
The court questioned the defense’s reliance on alleged activities from 2021 and 2022 when the writ cited in its own motion also contained allegations of continued conduct through August 2026.
Howard-Taylor faces multiple criminal allegations, including importation of controlled drugs, unlicensed exportation of controlled drugs and substances, unlicensed sales, trading in transit and transportation of controlled substances, abuse of office, illicit trafficking, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, criminal solicitation, money laundering and aiding consummation of crime.
According to the court’s account, Howard-Taylor was arrested Aug. 19, 2026, by national security authorities and subsequently taken before the Monrovia City Magisterial Court, where a writ of arrest was issued and served.
She was later detained at the Monrovia Central Prison.
The court noted that Howard-Taylor subsequently developed health complications while incarcerated and sought release on medical grounds. That request was granted, allowing her to be moved from the prison to her Congo Town residence under conditions imposed by the court.
The latest motion, however, centered on whether she was legally entitled to bail.
Judge Feika also examined provisions of Liberia’s Criminal Procedure Law governing the period within which criminal offenses may be prosecuted.
The judge cited Section 4.2(a), which the ruling described as providing a general five-year limitation period for felonies, but determined that Section 4.6 was more directly applicable to the arguments before the court.
Under Section 4.6, as explained in the ruling, an offense is considered committed when the last act or event constituting a necessary element occurs. Where an offense involves a continuing course of conduct, it is considered committed when that course ends or when the defendant terminates his or her alleged complicity.
Based on that provision, Feika concluded that the prosecution could not be considered time-barred merely because some of the alleged activities began in 2021 or 2022.
“Where the writ alleges that the defendant engaged in money-laundering transactions through August 2026,” the ruling states, “such transactions constitute alleged conduct occurring within the statutory limitation period.”
The court separately considered whether drug-related offenses can serve as predicate offenses for money laundering.
Feika referenced provisions of Liberia’s 2021 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act, including Sections 15.2.1 and 15.2.2.
According to the ruling, the law identifies certain criminal activities, including illicit trafficking in psychotropic substances, as predicate offenses for money laundering.
The court said money laundering is classified as a first-degree felony under the 2021 law and encompasses conduct involving the conversion, transfer, concealment, acquisition, possession, receipt or use of proceeds allegedly derived from criminal activity.
The court considered that relevant because prosecutors are alleging not only underlying drug-related activities but also subsequent financial transactions involving what they claim were proceeds of the alleged criminal enterprise.
The Ministry of Justice, representing the Republic of Liberia, opposed Howard-Taylor’s application.
Prosecutors argued that the offenses charged fall within the category of grave offenses under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2023, noting that cocaine is listed under Table I of the law.
The government therefore maintained that the offenses are non-bailable.
Prosecutors also relied on Article 21(d) of the Liberian Constitution, which provides for bail subject to exceptions involving capital offenses and grave offenses as defined by law.
The court agreed that the constitutional right to bail is subject to statutory exceptions established by the Legislature.
However, rather than resolving the motion solely on the classification of the offenses, Feika focused on Howard-Taylor’s statute-of-limitations and continuing-conduct arguments.
In its final ruling, Criminal Court “C” denied Howard-Taylor’s motion to be admitted to bail on the statute-of-limitations grounds presented.
The court stressed that the decision does not prevent Howard-Taylor from challenging the government’s evidence when the case proceeds to trial.
She may contest whether prosecutors can prove the elements of the offenses charged, whether the alleged conduct was continuing, when any alleged complicity ended, whether the funds at issue originated from criminal activity and whether prosecutors can establish the required criminal intent.
Judge Feika ordered the ruling entered Sept. 24, 2026.
The decision does not constitute a finding of guilt. Howard-Taylor remains accused, and the allegations contained in the writ of arrest and criminal charges must still be proven by prosecutors in accordance with law.
The ruling, however, marks a significant development in the prosecution because the court has determined, for purposes of the bail arguments before it, that allegations of continued conduct through August 2026 cannot simply be disregarded as pre-2023 activity.
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